In praise of small churches!

Dear friends, after enjoying 'my' zoom, I thought I would research things about small churches, and I found a very interesting article, I would like to share a few ideas with you! We moved to a small town in France, Civray (south of Poitiers) in 2016. We attend a small church that counts about 50 English people and a handful of French people. We have two retired pastors, my hubby who is English, and our friend who is Scottish. 

A small church puts everyone to work

The larger the organization of any kind, the smaller the percentage that will handle the actual work. In a small church, everyone is needed to work and, if it's a "great small church," everyone is put to work.

A small church uses volunteers everywhere--in the office, cleaning the buildings, mowing the lawn, teaching children, leading choirs, playing the piano. A small church will not hire a painting contractor to refurbish the buildings; it will have a "work day" and the members will do it all on a Saturday. A small church, one that does it right, will come closer than most to fulfilling Romans 12:3-8 where each member uses his/her spiritual gifts to do the work God gives to them.

A small church can excel at fellowship

My personal prescription for Christian fellowship is: each member of the church loves the Lord, likes each other, and welcomes the newcomer to their midst. When they work together, they have fun doing it. If a newcomer feels intimidated on walking into a huge religious edifice, he will feel more comfortable entering a small, humbler church building. A small church can take advantage of this.

Instead of bemoaning the absence of stained glass windows and pipe organs and vaulted ceilings, the members of a small church will recognize that those can be negatives to an unchurched fellow entering for the first time. He is far more likely to feel at home in New Home Church No. 2 than the First-Metro Church. The danger with small churches, of course, is that they will have great fellowship within their own membership but freeze out the newcomer. The members have known each other for so long, they may function more like a large Sunday School class than a Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

At the invitation of the pastor, I was visiting Bridgeton Baptist Church a few miles from my house. The church sits in a lovely middle-class neighborhood but has not grown in years. The pastor was trying to find the key to bringing in new people. "If we don't," he said, "this church is going to die within one generation." The forty or fifty members seemed to average 60 in age. That morning, I met several of them and enjoyed their fellowship. Later, I told the pastor, "What your people see as its problem, you should turn to an advantage."The problem, most of them felt, was the age of the members. 

Bearing in mind the Lord is faithful and He will look after His flock. In Matthew 16, 13-26 we read: 

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." 20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ. 

Inspired by this article: In praise of Small Churches! by JOE MCKEEVER - Original publication date: February 23, 2010

What about you, my dear readers, it would be lovely to hear from you !

The trinity: the Holy Spirit!

Fellowship treat!

Method for chocolate brownie hearts!

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / gas mark 6. 
2. Put the butter and the dark chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water and let everything melt together gently. Remove from the heat and leave it to cool a little.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk the eggs and both sugars together until thick.
4. Next, add the chocolate mixture to the beaten eggs mixture and fold together. Be gentle so the mixture stays airy.
5. Add the flour and baking powder and fold once more.
6. Pour into the prepared tin. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. You want it to stay quite soft and moist in the middle, so they should be springy to the touch and set on top, but if you insert a skewer into the centre, it should come out sticky.
7. Take out of the oven and cool for a few minutes in the tin before turning out and cutting into hearts with a heart-shaped cutter. This is best done while the brownies are still warm.

Ingredients

175g salted butter
175g good dark chocolate (at least 70%)
2 eggs
85g caster sugar
65g demerara sugar
100g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder

Put the kettle on and enjoy after the service !!

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I will extol the Lord at all times

Today, our bible reading is Psalm 34, and the author of  the Scriptures Union commentary stresses the importance of testimony. 

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.
1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Listening to other brothers or sisters in Christ is not only encouraging for everybody in the assembly but it also gives us strength to do the same. We may be led to share our testimony when we fellowship, prompted by the Holy Spirit. Also, we may witness to other people outside church, those who don't know yet about the love of God . Planting seeds. 

I find it a delight to remember those precious and numerous moments in my life. Testimonies are those heartfelt experiences when the Lord has touched our heart. 

Psalm 34 verse 8 says: 

Taste and see the the Lord is good; 

blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him

This verse is awesome! You may wonder why it says 'taste' here. We need to feed on the Word of God all the time otherwise we will wither. Thus, the Lord Jesus said,“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God” (Matthew. 4:4). Jesus is quoting the Bible, Deuteronomy 8, the end of verse 3:

2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.

Also, the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah spoke about this spiritual nourishment, he said, “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your word became to me the gladness and joy of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16).

A prayer tonight!

Thank you Lord for those precious moments when we know that your are by us, looking after us, caring for us. Thank you for what our Lord Jesus-Christ did for us on the cross, thank you for the promise of our salvation. Holy Spirit, help us witness to other as when you lead us. We ask you in the mighty name of our Saviour Jesus-Christ amen.

Burns night

Well, it's this time of the year. We are off to Weston village hall for a night of fellowship and fun. Steven is getting ready, putting on the 'kilt' and I am told that Viv and Ian will entertain us by their witty repartees. The Scottish poet Robert Burns was born on January 25, 1759.  The evening centers on the entrance of the haggis (a type of sausage prepared in a sheep's stomach) on a large platter to the sound of a piper playing bagpipes. When the haggis is on the table, Steven will read the "Address to a Haggis". This is an ode that Robert Burns wrote to the Scottish dish. At the end of the reading, the haggis is ceremonially sliced into two pieces and the meal begins. I do think people attend if they like haggis. Personally I don't mind as I have an acquired taste for the French andouillette so..the haggis tastes more oaty than the andouillettes. 

Have a blessed evening. N.

Faith, doubt and Jesus

An exciting new lent course coming up in Mid-trent churches. 

Meet us either at Weston, at Liz's or in Hixon, at our's, the Vicarage. 

Ours will start on Thursday 13th March at 7:30